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Tag: Derick Brassard

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Rangers-Penguins Game 3 Thoughts: 120-Minute Shutout

The Rangers lost Game 3 to the Penguins and were shut out for the second consecutive game thanks to another embarrassing offensive performance.

New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

The only good thing to come from Game 3 was when the MSG big screen showed the “I am Queens Boulevard” scene from Entourage and then cut to Adrian Grenier at the Garden while the series’ theme played and Grenier mouthed the signature line from the show.

The last time the Rangers scored a goal was when I paused Game 1 on Friday night in overtime because I had broken the seal earlier in the game and on the way back from the bathroom my friend Nunz ruined the game’s ending for me with a text message. Since Derick Brassard ended Game 1 with a shot that Pierre McGuire was convinced never went in, the Rangers have been shut out for two games, six periods and 120 minutes by Marc-Andre Fleury. And even though Fleury had the best regular season of his career this year, in the playoffs he is supposed to be what Nick Swisher has been in the playoffs for his entire career. But if you’re a Penguins fan right now, it’s Fleury who has saved the Penguins in this series and their season even if Rangers fans know it’s their team’s offense that’s responsible for those things.

Once upon a time in the playoffs, the Rangers were 3-for-12 on the power play. That time was after Game 2 against the Flyers. Since then, the Rangers are 0-for-34 and 0-for-13 in this series alone. If Fleury is supposed to be Nick Swisher then the Rangers’ power play is Robinson Cano in the 2012 playoffs. In Game 3, the Rangers went 0-for-5 on the power play, including a scoreless four-minute power play, and it was their power play that led to Sidney Crosby’s first goal of the playoffs when he scored on a breakaway 19 seconds after a Pittsburgh penalty in the second period. And then later in the second, Jussi Jokinen jumped out of the box, picked up a loose puck, turned it into a breakaway, turned the breakaway into his fifth goal of the playoffs and ended the game. Two Penguins goals on two breakaways, both at the end of Rangers power plays.

The Rangers dominated the play in the game, outshooting the Penguins 35-15, but even the 13 Penguins shots that weren’t their breakaway goals were higher-quality scoring chances than all of the Rangers’ 35. Outside, low-percentage shots is what the Rangers’ offense has become over the last two games and because of it, they are now staring at the daunting task of going at least 3-1 against in order to advance against a team that won the division and finished second in the Eastern Conference despite losing the most man games in the league this year.

There’s not much to say about a 2-0 loss that’s following a 3-0 loss. But something needs to be said, so I will focus on the two players most important to the Rangers’ success and the two players who I have said all along would have to carry them if they were to make an extended run. One is doing his job and one isn’t.

– Rick Nash is now pointless in the last seven games and has still yet to score in these playoffs. He has played 22 playoff games for the Rangers over the last two years and has one goal. One. I’m not ready to light a match and throw it on the “Rick Nash is the Rangers’ A-Rod” fire yet and I’m not sure I ever will be, but it’s getting harder and harder to support the guy I wanted the Rangers to trade the entire system for at the 2012 deadline. The hardest part about his extended slump is that he is creating chances and is playing well aside from not actually putting the puck in the net. It’s gotten to the point where it’s laughable that he can’t seem to get one bounce to go his way while so many lesser players in the entire playoffs have found a way to score. It will happen. I just hope there’s enough time left in the season for it to happen.

– I couldn’t believe the Penguins only finished with 15 shots in the game since it felt like much more and once again Henrik Lundqvist did everything outside of stopping two breakaways to give his team a chance to win. But really, giving up two goals against the Penguins and their defense/goaltending situation should be enough to win, even in the playoffs, considering the Blue Jackets didn’t have a problem scoring against them in the first round. It’s scary to think there could be back-to-back shutouts in this series and they didn’t come from Lundqvist since goaltending is the one area where the Rangers have a considerable advantage over the Penguins. Lundqvist has done his job, the way he always done his job in the playoffs, and has held the Penguins to two goals in each of the first three games of the series and has held the best player in the world and possibly the second-best player in the world to a combined one goal and he has a 2-1 series deficit to show for it thanks to the offense. If the Rangers are eliminated by the Penguins, it won’t be Henrik Lundqvist’s fault. It never is.

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Podcast: Kevin DeLury

Kevin DeLury of The New York Rangers Blog joins me to talk about the Rangers’ first-round matchup with the Flyers and the job Alain Vigneault has done after his first regular season in New York.

After an up-and-down season for the Rangers that had me at times wondering if they would even make the playoffs and other feeling like they could compete with Boston and Pittsburgh, the playoffs are finally here. And after hoping the Rangers would meet the Flyers in the first round for their first playoff series in 17 years, I got my wish with the Rangers and Flyers starting their series on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

Kevin DeLury of The New York Rangers Blog joined me to talk about the Rangers’ first-round matchup with the Flyers, what Henrik Lundqvist has to do in the playoffs to quiet his critics and how Alain Vigneault has done as head coach after his first regular season in New York.

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Rangers-Devils Stadium Series Thoughts: Mar-ty! Mar-ty! Mar-ty!

Everything about the first hockey game in the history of Yankee Stadium was perfect. Well, unless you’re Martin Brodeur or a Devils fan.

In an 82-game season, you need games like the Stadium Series to break up the monotony of the regular season. You want to have a playoff-like atmosphere at some point between October and early April to remind you of how amazing playoff hockey is and how important it is to be a part of it. You want a game to have the special feel and a seemingly added incentive to win even if the standard two points are on the line.

Sunday was special because it was one of two games on the Rangers’ schedule that stand out from the other 80. The novelty of outdoor NHL hockey isn’t being overexposed as some fans (like John McEnroe) believe with the Stadium Series and the Winter Classic and the Heritage Classic. Each outdoor game has presented it’s own unique element and those who have decided to complain about the increase in the games are likely the type of people who just need something to complain about.

Sunday was a perfect day in the Bronx for Rangers hockey and it might sound ridiculous, but if it were up to me, I would have the Rangers play a month of games at Yankee Stadium. OK, a week of games. OK, I will settle for one more.

– I loved how much the NBC broadcast team talked glowingly about Yankee Stadium. And I especially liked all the Yankees references that Doc Emrick threw into his call of the game including the one to open the game when going over the starting lineups at the opening faceoff:

“Mark Fayne, number 7, you see him at the right of your screen. He is the first home player to wear number 7 in Yankee Stadium since Mickey Mantle had that number retired in 1969.”

– Like the last time the Rangers played an outdoor game (2011-12 Winter Classic), it was the fourth line that kept the Rangers in the game and gave them a chance to win with the team’s first two goals of the game. Sure, the first one was a rebound as a result of Brodeur being interfered with by his own defenseman’s doing and the second one was a lucky bounce that trickled through his five-hole, but who cares? For at least one day, I can commend the fourth line’s work.

– Jaromir Jagr is ridiculous. The man is 41 years old, leads the Devils in scoring (16-28-44), is the active scoring leader in the NHL (697-1035-1732) and played the first period on Sunday as if it were 1993-94 and he were 21 years old. Jagr was the best player on the ice in the first period and looked like he might lead the Devils to a blowout win before the Devils defense and Brodeur fell apart. I wish Jagr would have had a second go-around with the Rangers.

– The Devils should think about changing back to the red and green color scheme over the red and black one. Or at least wear the red and green jerseys more often during the season. (Yes, this is my attempt to bring back the early-90s hockey that I grew up on.)

– What has happened to the Carcillo Effect? Carcillo was having a great shift forechecking in the first period, but when the Devils gained possession and broke it out, you could clearly see that he was tired and instead of changing, he coasted out of the Devils’ zone and then curled back toward the puck right before Ryan Clowe gave Patrik Elias a breakaway pass that led to the first goal of the game. It wasn’t “Car Bomb’s” finest moment, but his line did make up for it by scoring the Rangers’ first two goals. I never believed there was a Carcillo Effect and rather that he happened to join the team as they got hot (which coincides with Rick Nash and Henrik Lundqvist playing like Rick Nash and Henrik Lundqvist), but it would be nice if he did have some effect that was noticeable.

– The Devils’ second goal was a combination of Dan Girardi letting Jaromir Jagr continue toward the net with the puck without doing anything to slow him down, Dan Girardi not caring to look for someone to pick up (in this case it was Patrik Elias) after letting Jagr past him, Ryan McDonagh give a half-assed effort with a stick check on Jagr thinking that would be enough to take the puck from a man three goals away from 700 who is the best at protecting the puck in the world and then Henrik Lundqvist looking like a video game goalie when you accidentally switch to manual control. I think that sums up that disaster of a defensive breakdown.

– I didn’t tally how many junior hockey and college hockey references Pierre McGuire gave us on Sunday, but I did happen to notice this gem of a question for Peter DeBoer when Pierre went on the Devils bench in the first period: “I was really impressed with your practice yesterday. It looked like there was a rhyme and reason to it. What was the rhyme and reason?” If Pierre noticed there was a “rhyme and reason” to the Devils practiced (when I saw the Devils practice on MSG Network they were doing a shootout) then why would he need to ask DeBoer what it was?

– I’m not sure what Derick Brassard was doing when he decided to trip up Stephen Gionta at the Devils’ blue, which gave the Devils a power play, their third goal of the first and a 3-1 lead. Gionta entered the game with eight goals and 14 assists in 100 career games and wasn’t threatening to do anything during the play in which Brassard interfered with him. It was a brain fart and a dumb penalty to take and I can only hope that Brassard’s excuse was that he thought it was Brian Gionta.

– I was asked on Twitter why I went with “Ladies and gentlemen, Dan Girardi!” instead of “Ladies and gentlemen, Henrik Lundqvist!” when the Devils took a 3-1 lead. Is that a real question? It’s going to take a lot more than allowing three first-period goals, two of which Dan Girardi was on the ice for, for me to take shots at Hank. Lundqvist admitted in his postgame interview that he was in the middle of taking a nap because the Rangers had been told they had a long time until the delay would be over and that he wasn’t prepared and on his game in the first, but settled down after that. (He allowed no goals after the first). It was also reported that Marc Staal was eating pasta leading up to warmups since he was also under the impression the delay would last longer than expected. So if someone is eating pasta which isn’t highly recommended immediately before a game, then how can I get on Lundqvist for a sloppy 20 minutes? I can’t.

– The over/under in the game was 5. That total was matched in the first 16:59 of the game. With 10 total goals in the game, it was the most goals in a Rangers-Devils game since Dec. 12, 2008 when the Devils beat the Rangers 8-5. The Devils led 5-1 in that game, but blew their four-goal lead before winning. The Rangers’ goal scorers in that game were Markas Naslund, Nikolay Zherdev, Scott Gomez, Paul Mara and Ryan Callahan.

– I wish Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes played “I Don’t Want To Go Home.”

– On the Rangers’ fourth goal, which was produced by a 2-on-1 and a pass from Derick Brassard to Mats Zuccarello, it all started thanks to an awful pinch by Eric Gelinas, in which he accomplished nothing. Gelinas’ pinch looked like something that Girardi or Michael Del Zotto (has anyone missed him?) would do and I’m happy it happened, not only because the Rangers scored, but because it let me know that there are other teams that have defensemen that make equally as bad decisions as the Rangers defense does.

– The Rangers scored seven goals for the second time this year and the first line was only responsible for one of the goals as a unit (Rick Nash’s second-period goal) with Derek Stepan scoring on a penalty shot. It’s good to know that even if Nash, Stepan and Chris Kreider aren’t carrying the offensive load that the other lines will step up and serve as reliable secondary scoring options. Let’s just hope it wasn’t a one-time thing and the Rangers didn’t use up all their Stadium Series goals in the first of the two games.

– It’s only fitting that since Cory Schneider told the Devils coaching staff he would make their decision easier on who to start in the game by telling them that Martin Brodeur should start and have a chance to play in an outdoor game at Yankee Stadium. And it’s only fitting that Brodeur, being the class act he is, would return the favor and tell the coaching staff to let Schneider play the third period so he would have a chance to play in an outdoor game at Yankee Stadium. The decision to pull Brodeur had nothing to do with him allowing six goals on 21 shots in the first two periods with the Devils fighting to get into the playoff picture. Nothing at all.

The Devils’ season was over when they started 0-4-3 and won just once (beating the Rangers) in their first 10 games. Since then, they have battled back to within one point of the third spot in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers helped the Devils save their season, but on Sunday, they ruined the Devils’ chance to really get back in it. A perfect day in the Bronx.

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Searching for Two Points

As of Sunday, it had been 10 days since the Rangers picked up two points and a win, so it felt like the right time to do a Retro Recap of the third period against the Flames.

It’s been 10 days since the Rangers earned two points. In that time they have played four games, earning just one point and allowing four goals in all four games. What makes it even worse is that in the four games, the Rangers scored just seven goals with three of them coming in one game (Dec. 7 vs. New Jersey) and to make it even worse than that, all four games were at home and to make it even worse that that, Henrik Lundqvist started all four games. The Rangers’ high-water mark of the season has been one game over .500. They have achieved that six times this season, but have managed to fall back to .500 following each win to bring them over .500 (with the exception of that Dec. 7 shootout loss to the Devils, which made them 15-14-1).

With 33 games gone (40 percent of the season), the Rangers found themselves in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division and 13th place in the Eastern Conference entering Sunday’s game against the Flames at Madison Square Garden. And then 15 minutes into the game against the Flames, they found themselves trailing 2-0, marking the third straight game they trailed by at least two goals before finding the back of the net. But Derek Stepan would score with 4:35 left in the first (his first goal in 10 games) and Carl Hagelin would tie it at 2 at 7:29 of the the second period, which is the way it would stay through the second. And that’s where we pick things up in this Retro Recap.

THIRD PERIOD

20:00: The Rangers fought back to tie the game at 2 and now they will try to successfully complete a comeback by winning the third period or winning in overtime or a shootout. It’s been 10 days since the Rangers’ last win, but it feels like it’s been a month. That win came over Buffalo on Dec. 5, which probably shouldn’t even count for two points this season, considering Buffalo has an NHL-worst 17 points.

As they always do, Swedish House Mafia takes us to the opening faceoff of the period with “Save The World,” which asks, “Who’s gonna save the world tonight?” It’s probably going to have to be Henrik Lundqvist and it should be since he hasn’t done anything worthy of a king since signing his extension on Dec. 4, going just 1-3-1 since then.

John Giannone is doing the play-by-play with Sam Rosen in Atlanta today calling the Falcons-Redskins game for FOX. When my girlfriend heard Sam’s voice earlier in the day and put two and two together that it was the same voice she hears during Rangers games, her face lit up as if a light went off in her head and she looked like a little kid seeing and hearing Tim Allen in The Santa Claus and realizing that guy who turns into Santa is also the voice of Buzz Lightyear.

17:32: It’s been a slow two and a half minutes to open the period with not much happening for either team. The puck just hit Derick Brassard in the middle of a line change near the Rangers bench, which drew a whistle, but not a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty, which the ref then had to explain to both benches to delay the game. That’s all the action we have seen so far in the third.

16:42: The Rangers lead 19-14 in shots, which isn’t good for Lundqvist’s save percentage. AV has Carl Hagelin playing with Brian Boyle, which completely cancels out Hagelin’s speed. Why would you want Hagelin and Boyle on the same line? You wouldn’t.

15:16: The Flames score. Anton Stralman and Mats Zuccarello both get beat in the corner (with Zuccarello falling down) and then Derick Brassard gets beat to the net by Sean Monahan as Curtis Glencross finds Monahan and he gets one past Lundqvist. Another odd, bad goal scored against Lundqvist and the Rangers will have to come back again.

14:03: Usually these Retro Recaps work. Actually I think they pretty much always work. Whether it’s the Rangers needing a win, the New York Football Giants needing to win the 2011 NFC Championship Game or Phil Hughes needing to pitch a gem, whenever I do a Retro Recap for a game, it turns out to be for the best. Just thought I would throw this fact out there now, while there’s still 14 minutes for the Rangers to tie it.

13:36: Michael Del Zotto rips a shot from the point into some Calgary shin pads the way that only Michael Del Zotto can and the puck comes out of the zone. Just when it looked like Del Zotto was playing his way out of the lineup for good and possibly out of the organization, he had to go and score that goal against Vancouver in his first game back following two consecutive healthy scratches and five of eight healthy scratches.

12:37: Chris Kreider receives a long pass as he streaks down the left side and lets a slap shot go from just inside the blue as the crowd gets up and excited for the first time in the third period. It’s never a good sign when you’re trailing by one goal, not generating any offense and the crowd is creating artificial excitement off a low-percentage shot on a 1-on-1.

10:34: Since I already touched on putting Hagelin and Boyle on the same line, let’s talk about the idea of pairing Del Zotto with Dan Girardi. Is this real life? You’re going to put the worst defenseman on the team with the second-worst defenseman on the team? When I wrote that last sentence/question I meant for Del Zotto to be “the worst defenseman on the team” and for Girardi to be “the second-worst defenseman” on the team, but then I realized they interchangeable and could be classified as either.

We know that Del Zotto serves limited purpose since he isn’t a defensive defenseman and hasn’t evolved in the offensive defenseman we thought he might turn out to be. So he’s now just a defensive liability who doesn’t do enough in his own zone to be worthy of playing time and doesn’t score enough to be worthy of playing time, but he’s still getting playing time and plenty of it. Remember when the supposed strong, young defensive core was the future of the Rangers? (Crickets … crickets … crickets.)

As for Girardi, I hope I don’t hear anyone mention the need to extend him between now and the end of the season. He scored his second goal of the season for the Rangers on Thursday night, but he has a long ways to go to make up for the 15 goals he has scored against Henrik Lundqvist this season.

And the best part about this defensive pair is their inability to hit the net with any shot from the point. They are the opponent’s best breakout strategy.

10:12: Dylan McIlrath gets his stick up on Mike Cammalleri on the way to the corner after Cammalleri initiated contact with McIlrath to position himself in a way that would avoid him getting destroyed along the boards. McIlrath gets called for high-sticking and the Flames have a chance to put this game away.

9:45: A whistle on the power play and we’re reminded that coming up is the “Foxwoods Final Five,” which is when Foxwoods sponsors the final five minutes of the game. In December, the Rangers have played six games and have lost five of them and have been trailing by at least two goals for the final five minutes of the five losses. Is anyone even watching the final five minutes of Rangers games? Wouldn’t Foxwoods be better off sponsoring the first five minutes of the game?

8:12: The Rangers kill off McIlrath’s penalty as the Flames aren’t able to put together or set up anything in the Rangers’ zone. It looked like what I imagine the Rangers’ power play against the Rangers’ penalty kill looks like at practice.

8:02: With just three shots so far in the period, Joe Micheletti says, “The Rangers need shots.” Thank you, Joe. Here I was thinking there would be another way for them to tie this game.

7:53: The Rangers score! Derek Stepan makes a nice move near the bottom of the left circle and gets the puck to the front of the net where Kreider is to put it home. And how exactly did the Rangers score? With a shot on net, of course. Joe Micheletti, you genius you!

4:58: There was a TV timeout with 6:44 left and since then it’s been all Calgary as the Rangers are having a tough time clearing the zone and getting a chance. It feels like a Flames goal is coming any second now and probably will before I finish writing this.

4:33: And the puck is finally out of the zone.

3:56: Cammalleri gets called for roughing, which is some nice payback after he drew the penalty earlier against McIlrath.

3:16: Rick Nash makes a nice move along the goal line and with the puck in the air headed toward Karri Ramo, Ramo paddles it out of the air and it goes over the glass for a delay of game penalty. It’s going to be a 5-on-3 for the Rangers for 1:20. Flames head coach Bob Hartley looks like he just got back to his car in the parking lot of a grocery store only to find a note on it that says, “Sorry, I hit your car. I picked up your bumper and put it on top of your trunk. I was in a hurry and had to go and you weren’t around. Here’s my number.”

2:44: The power play unit is Nash, Stepan, Kreider, Brad Richards and Ryan McDonagh. In other words: only people that should be playing on the power play.

1:56: Kreider gets called for high-sticking in front of the net on the power play and it’s going to be a double minor. What a terrible turn of events. From a 5-on-4 to a 5-on-3 to now 4-4 to then being down 5-on-4 for the rest of the third and then 4-on-3 in overtime.

Guns N’ Roses’ “Nighttrain” is now playing at the Garden, so maybe everything will be fine.

0:00: That will do it for the third. We’re headed to overtime. One point for the Rangers, but getting one point once every four games isn’t going to cut it.

OVERTIME

5:00: The Flames start overtime with a 4-on-3 advantage and the Rangers have Boyle, Girardi and McDonagh on the ice. Over/under 45 seconds until this game is over? If you want to use Boyle to kill penalties during regulation, I get it. I don’t agree with it, but I get it. But when you’re using him in overtime to kill penalties and to kill a 4-on-3, well that’s just irresponsible. He is no way the best forward on the team suited for this role

4:23: A huge save by Lundqvist in front on Glencross, which momentarily saves the game for the Rangers. 30 big save on glen

3:26: Dominic Moore is now on the ice as the lone forward in the 4-on-3 and McDonagh is still on the ice, having played all of overtime so far.

2:56: Kreider’s penaty is killed off and I lost that under bet from earlier too.

2:16: Del Zotto sends a nice, long flip pass across the ice to lead Kreider, but it’s too hard to handle for Kreider to turn into a breakaway and he gets stopped. “Sandstorm” now blaring at MSG. With this soundtrack, how can the Rangers lose?

:40: Kreider and Del Zotto have a 2-on-1 chance, but with the puck bouncing on the ice, Kreider can’t handle it and the play is broken up.

0:00: That will do it for overtime. We’re headed for a shootout.

SHOOTOUT

Rangers: Mats Zuccarello starts things off by fooling everyone in the world. Instead of his patented move that has led him to a 50 perecent career success rate in shootouts, he comes down the right side and cuts into the middle moving slowly like usual, but then just snaps a shot off top tit on Ramo. 1-0 Rangers.

Flames: Former Bruin and lanky fourth-liner Joe Colborne comes down and somehow dekes Lundqvist to tie the shootout at 1.

Rangers: Nash makes a nice moves, but at the end when he tries to slide it in just inside the post on his forehand, Ramo’s right pad is there to stop it. If Nash had lifted the puck, it’s an easy goal.

Flames: Jiri Hudler gets stoned by Lundqvist

Rangers: Stepan can’t score.

Flames: Lundqvist stops Monahan.

Rangers: Richards comes flying down and wrists one medium tit or maybe three-quarters tit on Ramo. 2-1 Rangers and with a Lundqvist save, it’s over.

Flames: Lee Stempniak loses the puck and regains it in time to backhand one on the ice through Lundqvist’s legs as he moves right to left. We’re tied again.

Rangers: Brassard gets stopped.

Flames: I thought Cammalleri would end it, but he can’t.

Rangers: Dominic Moore rips one from the slot to the left side to give the Rangers a 3-2 shootout lead and a chance for Lundqvist to close it out again.

Flames: Lundqvist wants to see how long this Retro Recap can be as Paul Byron scores on him to tie it again.

Rangers: Benoit Pouliot goes to Nash’s one-hand move and gets the puck past Ramo with ease. Out of all the times I have seen the move done, never before has it pulled a goalie so far to one side, leaving basically an entire half of the net for Pouliot to slide it in. Come on, Lundqvist.

Flames: Lundqvist closes it out by stopping Mikael Backlund and looks tired and worn out doing so after raising his arms to the Garden rafters in triumph.

It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t against a good team, but a win’s a win. After 65 minutes of play and seven shootout rounds, the Rangers have their two points. They earned them.

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Rangers-Bruins Brings Out War of Words

With the Rangers and Bruins meeting for the first time this season I had to email Mike Miccoli to get his thoughts on the game throughout the entire game.

Rangers games feel different and more important when facing the Bruins. Even though it’s just one of 82 games and the usual two points are on the line, it has the feel of a playoff game and there’s actually more than just two points on the line with the history between the two Original Six franchises and their fans.

Because of this extra importance and because it’s only one of three games between the two teams this season and because I wasn’t going to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night after having to watch Sunday night’s 1-0 letdown against the Kings in person, I decided to see what my freshman year of college roommate Mike Miccoli, who covers the Bruins for The Hockey Writers, was up to for the game. Luckily, he was also watching the game from his apartment in Boston and agreed to trade emails with me during it.

7:26 P.M.

Keefe: Two years ago when the Bruins reached the Stanley Cup Final I asked you if the Bruins won the Cup, would you be willing to have the Red Sox suck for the next 10 years while the Yankees won five World Series during that time? You didn’t hesitate to say yes. Let’s recap what has happened since then.

After June 2011, the Yankees were bounced in five games that fall in the ALDS, losing Game 5 to the Tigers at Yankee Stadium, but the Red Sox completed the worst regular-season collapse in baseball history. Everything going according to plan so far.

In 2012, the Yankees lost in four games in the ALCS to the Tigers, while Derek Jeter destroyed his ankle, Robinson Cano made a makeshift lounge chair in the dugout and A-Rod, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher were hopefully playing drunk during the series. But the Red Sox had the worst season imaginable under Bobby Valentine. So with two years down, I figured that meant the Yankees would win five of the next eight world Series.

But then in 2013, things changed and not just in baseball. The Bruins overcame a three-goal deficit in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, nearly blowing a 3-1 series lead before the most epic of comebacks. Then they embarrassed the Rangers in five games and the Penguins in four games and were just over a minute away from sending the Stanley Cup Final back to Chicago for Game 7. Also this year, the Yankees endured so many injuries to their starting lineup that I actually missed Francisco Cervelli and found myself hoping that Lyle Overbay and Vernon Wells could carry the 2013 Yankees, which didn’t end well and the Yankees missed the postseason for the second time since 1993. Meanwhile, the Red Sox rebounded from their disastrous season to win their third World Series in 10 years and third since I met you freshman year of college.

In this calendar year, you have gone to Game 6 of the Cup Final, the AFC Championship Game and won the World Series. I have endured the Rangers losing to your Bruins, Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin era falling apart (though it might be turning now) and the second-worst Yankees season of the last 20 years. Before we can get into this game tonight, I want to know: How the eff did you reverse the curse you put on your fandom and Boston sports?

 

7:50 P.M.

Miccoli: Remember the first weekend in our 1105 dorm room? Probably not, but that’s cool because I don’t really either. I realized after the first week of classes that I didn’t own one piece of Red Sox gear. See, back in Rhode Island, you could get away with a Pawtucket Red Sox hat as your gear of choice, walking down the Providence Place Mall with a giant, red “P” on your dome. Of course, I’d probably have some type of Bruins gear instead, but that’s neither here or there, especially with the lockout looming after a disappointing Boston exit from the playoffs by the hands of the Canadiens.

ANYWAY. I decided to buy a Red Sox hat to fit in around the city and get girls to talk to me. That didn’t work at all but hey, six weeks later, the Red Sox won the World Series for the first time in 86 years and then did it again when we were seniors and could legally get into bars instead of watching in our dorm room. Guess which hat I was wearing last month when they did it again?

Although it’s probably stupid for me to credit it all on a hat, I really don’t have a better answer for you so we’ll go with that. As far as the Bruins go, I guess you can say it’s just better to go along for the ride.

When I was growing up a youth in Rhode Island, nobody knew much about hockey. I know that sounds like an exaggerated statement, but I’m dead serious. All throughout my time in elementary school, the Bruins were an afterthought to everyone–the amount of times I had to explain my hockey fandom was insane. So this is nice. It helps that the sport evolved and the team has gotten worlds better, but for a period of time, Boston was the Bruins’ city. That was both weird and really cool. Even though the Red Sox are the city’s reigning champions (it’s SO hard to keep up with that, these days), I’d say the Bruins are still pretty damn important.

I’m excited for tonight’s game though. The Bruins are still in that ‘we don’t know how good we are yet so we’ll just let teams hang in games and figure it out, cool?’ stage. You, of course, know that I think the Rangers are a perennial good team, and always a challenge for Boston. This time though, I’m curious to see if Torey Krug can still give Henrik Lundqvist nightmares.

 

7:57 P.M.

Keefe: You do always think the Rangers are a perennial good team, which is nice during the regular season, but in the Henrik Lundqvist era (post-lockout), here is how their eight seasons have ended (none of these are Lundqvist’s fault):

2005-06: Lost in first round
2006-07: Lost in second round
2007-08: Lost in second round
2008-09: Lost in first round
2009-10: Missed playoffs
2010-11: Lost in first round
2011-12: Lost in conference finals
2012-13: Lost in second round

So as you can see, I’m beginning to think your idea of them being a perennial good team is just your attempt at a sneaky reverse jinx. You’re sick!

I’m not sure if Torey Krug gives Henrik Lundqvist nightmares, but he definitely gives me them since I’m 100 percent sure that if Torey Krug doesn’t come out of nowhere (like actual nowhere) and suddenly turn into Ray Bourque 2.0 (little known fact: Ray Bourque is my favorite player of all time) in the conference semifinals last May, then the Rangers face the Penguins in the Eastern Conference finals. That’s not my opinion or a hypothetical, that’s a fact.

As I type this, the Rangers just blew a power-play chance (no surprise there) and Chris Kreider just had one of the sloppiest penalty shot attempts you will ever see. I think it’s time I offer you another chance to set Boston sports back.

 

8:11 P.M.

Miccoli: It must have been awhile since you’ve been to Boston since the Torey Krug statue is already being erected next to Orr’s outside TD Garden. Although, he has looked brutal in own end so far this game. When Derek Dorsett is beating you for loose pucks in your own end, you probably should re-evaluate some things.

No disrespect to the Rangers power play, even though their unit did look pretty crappy, but the Bruins have now killed 33 straight penalties. That’s pretty insane, right? Right around Halloween, the Bruins were near the bottom of the NHL on the penalty kill. Now? Number two. If you can’t capitalize when one of the Bruins’ top PKers is in the box, when will you be able to?

Speaking of scoring, it’s not happening this game, is it? The Rangers aren’t exactly lighting it up at home and the Bruins are facing a netminder who has incredible numbers when playing in his own crease. Luckily, Boston hasn’t looked too out of sorts even though they’re playing in their second game in as many nights. I’m just thankful that Tuukka Rask got the start instead of the new number 30, Chad Johnson. And I say that as I watch the game in my Tim Thomas jersey, shaking on my couch. Just kidding, except not really.

 

8:28 P.M.

Keefe: I have seen Chad Johnson play for the Bruins this season and therefore I knew he was wearing number 30, but I didn’t really put two and two together and realize that they gave Thomas’ number away so quickly. Kind of weird. But I guess when you do the things that Tim Thomas did during the 2011-12 season and then quit on the team and quit the game while still under contract, it doesn’t matter if you won the Conn Smythe and led the team to their first Cup since 1972.

When my girlfriend asked me what I thought the score would be tonight, I said I had to wait until I found out if Tuukka Rask was going to play. Once I found out he was I said 1-0, if not then 2-1 because that’s the score whenever Lundqvist and Rask face each other (at least in the regular season).

It’s not a good feeling that after 20 minutes and the way the Rangers dominated the play and had a penalty shot, a semi breakaway for Rick Nash and a perfect deflection through Rask’s leg that the game is tied 0-0. This has a feeling of a 1-0 Bruins win with the Bruins’ fourth line scoring some garbage double or maybe triple deflection goal. Either that or Dan Girardi will score on Lundqvist himself since that’s what Dan Girardi thinks he’s supposed to do in a contract year.

 

8:40 P.M.

Miccoli: I think the Bruins are on their heels. Right after I typed that “Boston doesn’t look too out of sorts …” they began to revert into the type of team that does nothing but allow their opponents to walk in and take control of the game. The Rangers have 16 shots on net compared to the Bruins’ six. That’s not comforting especially when the Bruins just announced that their No. 2 defenseman, Dennis Seidenberg, was going to miss the rest of the game.

Maybe this is New York’s chance to explode offensively. Take away Chara and Johnny Boychuk and then the Rangers are left to beat Dougie Hamilton, Matt Bartkowski and Krug. While they’ll probably develop into fine blue-liners, it’s not the squad you want to have out there for 50-plus minutes of a hockey game when shorthanded.

There’s also a very good chance I’m giving the Rangers too much credit. My roommate, also a Rangers fan (I’m not sure how I keep finding myself in these situations) says that I am. But defense wins championships, which means that they win hockey games too. Want to tell New York how to win? Get Chara tired and outwork the other five.

 

8:45 P.M.

(Shawn Thornton scores.)

Keefe: After what I sent in my last email and what just happened, do I need to write anything?

 

8:47 P.M.

Miccoli: Shawn Thornton: bonafide sniper. Every single goal he has scored this season has been a beauty, which makes it a shame when people say he’s “just a fighter.” Sure! The fourth line enforcer just lit up one of the best goaltenders in the world.

 

8:52 P.M.

Keefe: Well, he does have 35 goals in 514 career games, so it only makes sense that he scores against Henrik Lundqvist tonight.

I went to the game on Sunday night against the Kings and was devastated at a 1-0 loss. Who wants to see a 1-0 regular-season game in which your team loses? At least if this score holds up, and the way Rask is playing it might, I will be happy that I decided to not go tonight and sit on the couch and exchange emails with you during the game instead. All we need now is a couple of twin beds, a box TV, a Playstation 2 with MVP 2005 and a couple of cluster roommates plugging in their amps to reenact an Ozzfest concert on the other side of the wall at 4 a.m. or playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas with their homemade surround sound.

Here’s a real question: Are these the best two goalies in the world? I think so.

 

8:59 P.M.

Miccoli: As I write this, the Bruins have nine shots on net. The Rangers have 24 and Tuukka Rask has stopped every single one. Are these the best two goalies in the world? Right now, yes. I think that you could probably make a case for Jon Quick and Pekka Rinne, but for now it’s these two.

What’s exciting about Rask is that he’s just entering his prime. Coming off an eight-year extension, it’s possible that he could be one of the most elite goaltenders in Boston’s history. He’s the perfect fit for a team that doesn’t score a ton of goals and plays in a structured, defensive system. The Bruins need Rask to be on his best every night and with the exception of Friday’s loss against the Ottawa Senators, he has been.

Oh, a Bruins shorthanded goal from Diamond Daniel Paille. Jack Edwards just said that the only place in New York that’s quieter than the Garden is the New York Public Library. And now a Bronx cheer?! What is this?!

 

9:06 P.M.

Keefe: That Bronx cheer was unexpected, but that’s going to happen when the MSG crowd is full of suits, who couldn’t tell you what number Henrik Lundqvist wears and just know that when the team in white scores on the team in blue it’s bad. Bronx cheers need to be saved for when Brian Boyle is used on the power play. We can’t be wasting them on the best goalie in the world giving up a breakaway goal.

And there’s the first Rangers goal in 127:06 of hockey! Just when I was beginning to think they might get shutout for the second game … in a row … at home. It wasn’t that crazy of a thought since they had last scored 5:25 into the second period in Montreal on Saturday night.

Yes, the Derick Brassard goal just saved the game, but what saved it more than cutting the deficit to one was the timing of it, coming just after the Bruins scored. And as NBC Sports goes to break, the slow-motion replay shows the puck splitting a a pair of legs on the way to the net. No, the Rangers can’t score on penalty shots or breakaways or odd-man rushes or power plays, but they can score through an accidental screen and deflection off a shin pad.

The 1-0 prediction is done, but the 2-1 is still alive. How are the Bruins playing so well after playing Carolina just 24 hours ago? You should see how the Rangers play on the second night of a back-to-back.

And Derek Dorsett heads to the box…

 

9:08 P.M.

Keefe: Before you can even respond, the Rangers kill off Dorsett’s penalty and now he’s going back to the box!

 

9:16 P.M.

Miccoli: I hope you were able to find comfort in the Bruins last power play. The one aspect of the Bruins’ game that hasn’t sucked as per usual is the power play. Maybe it’s Krug on the point, or Chara in front, but it’s been better.

Now, 30 seconds into their second power play, it seems to be more of the same. Bad entry into the zone, not enough possession and that stupid dump and chase from the neutral zone. Want to know who still uses the dump and chase? Peewee hockey teams that can’t skate. The Bruins are a big, physical team that unfortunately lacks speed. When they start to skate it into the zone, they find better success. It’s not working tonight because the Rangers are a faster team and their few shorthanded attempts have proved that. They’re beating the Bruins to the puck and winning the races.

Now with the Bruins getting one shot in two back-to-back power plays, it might be time to be worried. Twenty minutes left in a one-goal game between the Rangers and the Bruins. What happens in the third? Do you think national hero Gregory Campbell puts one home and completes the trifecta of fourth liners who can score on Lundqvist?

 

9:25 P.M.

Keefe: I don’t think there’s any doubt that Gregory Campbell is going to score and go home with the game-winning goal tonight. Is there somewhere taking in-game prop bets where I can bet on this?

In the third, I do expect the Rangers to tie it. They have dominated the play and have had several high-quality scoring chances and those chances have come in flurries. Now that they have broken the Bruins’ Koji Uehara-like penalty killing streak, maybe they can get another power play (if Dorsett allows them to) to tie the game. It would only be fitting if Rick Nash were to score in his return after missing 16 games thanks to a Brad Stuart elbow.

Speaking of Brad Stuart, it’s disgusting that he’s back on the Sharks now playing with Joe Thornton in the trade that never should have happened. But I guess Stuart, Wayne Primeau and Marco Sturm were worth trading the only player in majors sports history to be traded DURING his MVP season.

 

9:43 P.M.

Miccoli: That’s still a bit frustrating to me, even if the trade did lead to Zdeno Chara and Marc Savard and a Cup, whatever. I remember being in my dorm room, this was the post-Neil era, thinking that Marco Sturm had the potential to be a 35-plus goal scorer and Brad Stuart was destined to be a number-one defenseman. LOL, right?

Speaking of frustrating, no Bruin is having more of a trying season than Brad MarchAND. Not only did he just realize that we’ve been saying his name wrong for the past four years, his on-ice performance has been less than stellar. He’s made a ton of stupid mistakes, hey look a dirty check on Mats Zuccarello, hasn’t been able to find the back of the net and has been a turnover machine. You hope (not you, but you get it) that it’s just a slump and that he’s getting used to his new linemate, Loui Eriksson replacing Tyler Seguin. Personally, I think MarchAND still has the ability to be a 30+ goal scorer this season and be an impact player for the team.

But how many times will Claude Julien ‘send a message’ by benching him or demoting him to the fourth line before he’s scratched? It worked, kind of, for Milan Lucic last year. After being a healthy scratch, he rebounded by ending the season strong and is now the top goal scorer on the Bruins. It’s similar to what the Rangers went through with Brad Richards, except, you know, almost $3 million cheaper.

Also, when did Chris Kreider become the most exciting New York Ranger to watch?

 

9:52 P.M.

Keefe: Hey, now. Brad Richards has been the Rangers’ best offensive player this season. All of that amnesty buyout talk from the offseason is long gone and so are the days of Richards being made a fourth-liner and then a healthy scratch because John Tortorella, his so-called friend, decided to start making examples of people with the Rangers’ one loss away from elimination. It’s good to see Richards get the last laugh as the Rangers’ current leading scorer while Tortorella was fired and now is abusing Canadian media members.

It’s kind of weird that Tortorella is in Vancouver and now Alain Vigneault is here with the two switching places. I was never the biggest AV (yes, that’s what he told Glen Sather to call him and said he wants to go by) fan when he was the coach of the Canucks, but I think that was more a product of the players he was coaching and not the type of coach he is. I have enjoyed watching him actually use guys with scoring ability and talent as actual scorers and not shot-blocking pylons or grinders or bruisers. It’s too bad Marian Gaborik had to be moved because of Tortorella because if Gaborik was able to score 40-plus goals twice under Tortorella, what would he have been able to do under AV?

I’m sure for you that you have a much different perspective and much different feelings toward AV since he was the coach of the hated 2010-11 Canucks team that went the distance with your Bruins.

And Chris Kreider became the most exciting Ranger to watch when I wrote at the end of October that the organization needed to stop Joba Chamberlain-ing him and sending him up and down and not letting him the freedom to become the first-round pick and top-six forward they envisioned. Since his call-up and utilization in a set role on a real line in an offensive system, he has been the player that Sather didn’t want to trade for Nash in February 2011 (though I wanted to and still wish they had).

But really he became the most exciting Ranger just tonight.

 

10:02 P.M.

Miccoli: Did I ever tell you how much I like John Tortorella? I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true. I remember covering the Eastern Conference Semifinals last season and going to his press conference, all excited to see him whip out some quick wit and dry humor. True story, I tried to avoid eye contact at all costs. It was like going to a bad stand-up comedy show and trying not to make any false moves in fear that you’d get picked on. I’ve never been more scared in my life.

Anyway, I like what AV has done with the team so far. Even after the skid to start the season, it’s evident that the Rangers are a different team. They’re motivated and he’s added another element to the roster.

With four minutes left in the game and the Bruins playing the way that they are, I can’t see a way that they pull this off unless Lundqvist is pulled and Milan Lucic scored an empty netter to win it. I don’t have the exact stats, but out of his nine goals, there’s a good chance that four have come with nobody in net.

 

10:05 P.M.

Keefe: Speaking of underachievers and stats like that, Derek Stepan has four goals this season and three of them were in one game. That is an exact stat. And he has been terrible tonight, fanning on several shots and failing to keep the puck in the offensive zone.

Meanwhile I just officially welcomed Dan Girardi to the A.J. Burnett/Boone Logan/Kevin Gilbride/Brian Boyle/Nick Swisher Etc. Club. I have wanted to for a while now, but I was waiting for the right moment and then two awful breakdowns on back-to-back shifts made me realize now was the time.

There is 2:20 left. The Rangers have one goal since the second period of Saturday’s game. They aren’t scoring here.

 

10:08 P.M.

Miccoli: The Bruins fourth line is out on the ice with a minute left in the game. Now, with 17 seconds, the refs decide to blow the play dead with Chris Kelly on his way to score on the empty net. That’s good. I was getting tired of listening to the blown call on the Patriots from last night. I’m glad we can forget about that call and focus on this one now.

 

10:13 P.M.

Keefe: It’s OK because the faceoff is at center ice and that will do it. The Rangers lose 2-1 and drop two home games in three days despite allowing just three goals combined. But it’s easy to lose like that when you only score one goal in 120 minutes.

I was thinking that this year would be different and that the Rangers wouldn’t just rely on Henrik Lundqvist to post a shutout every single game, which has been their game plan since the 2008-09 season. But so far it hasn’t been.

I guess I’m happy I didn’t waste the time and money to go the Garden tonight and watch that in person. Just 10 days until these two teams meet again for the second and second-to-last time this season. That means Greg Campbell will have to wait 10 more days to get his first goal of the season.

 

10:18 P.M.

Miccoli: There’s always the Giants. And the prospect of Robinson Cano wearing blue and orange.

Happy days in New York! I look forward to the Thanksgiving Day showdown and another one-goal game. Maybe a team will score three goals this time!

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